Prospect Update: Garrett Metcalf

Photo: @cheiftendy

By Thomas Harrington

A sixth-round pick in 2015, Garrett Metcalf played for Mercyhurst University this past season, after not playing during the 2017-2018 season.

Metcalf played his freshman season at UMass-Lowell. He played in only four games that season and requested a transfer in April 2017. Unfortunately, according to NCAA rules, a student must complete one year of academics before being allowed to play again. So Metcalf sat out the 2017-2018 season.

After only playing four games during the 2016-2017 season and sitting out the entire 2017-2018 season, Metcalf suited up for 15 games this past season. 14 of those games he started. He had a record of 7-7, a goals against average of 3.28, and a save percentage of .902. While those aren’t sterling numbers, it’s much more important that he played in 15 games. The only way for a prospect to make it to the NHL is by getting as much game experience as possible. After only four games in two seasons, 15 last year was a big step up for him.

This coming season, Metcalf will return to Mercyhurst and suit up for them for the second straight season. He’ll likely be splitting time with Colin DeAugustine and Stefano Cantali. Cantali was the team’s starter last season and put up the best numbers of the three of them, but they weren’t significantly superior to Metcalf’s. If Metcalf can play better this coming season, he has a real chance of becoming Mercyhurst’s starter this coming season.

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My expectation for Metcalf this season is pretty simple, appear in more games and improve his numbers. He doesn’t need to become Mercyhurst’s starter this year, but he does need to appear in more than the 15 games he played in last year. If he can do that, and improve his overall numbers, it will be a great sign of his development, especially considering that he didn’t play during the 2017-2018 season.

Goaltending is the hardest position in hockey to predict. That being said, right now, it doesn’t look like Metcalf will be an NHL starter in the future. However, a 25-year-old goaltender just won the Stanley Cup, after spending most of his professional career splitting time between the AHL and ECHL. So maybe Metcalf turns into a Stanley Cup winning goaltender someday, but based on what I’ve seen and read about him, I think an NHL backup is his ceiling. More likely, I think he could become a good AHL goaltender.

Metcalf is currently not signed to a professional deal with the Ducks. The instant he does, he becomes ineligible to play college hockey. The Ducks own Metcalf’s rights for the next two seasons. If he’s not signed by August 2021, Metcalf will become a free agent and can sign where he wants to. It’s fair to say that Anaheim won’t be signing Metcalf this summer. If he can improve his numbers this year, the Ducks could consider signing him a year from now and bringing him to San Diego.

The next prospect update will be on Jack Kopacka.

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August 11th, 2019